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Pierre-Luc Dubois Accepts Qualifying Offer

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5:10 PM: The Jets have now officially announced the extension.

3:40 PM: With his name featuring heavily in trade rumors, Pierre-Luc Dubois has taken himself one step closer to an exit from Winnipeg. According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, Dubois has chosen to accept his one-year, $6MM qualifying offer in advance of the upcoming deadline.

This means that Dubois has, at least for this summer, elected to not sign a long-term deal with the Jets, as many have expected. Dubois will be an unrestricted free agent in two years’ time. Dubois’ representation has communicated a desire for their client to end up playing for the Montreal Canadiens and Dubois actually attended the draft in Montreal because he believed a trade would be completed on the draft floor. That did not happen, though, so Dubois has now accepted his qualifying offer as a means of simplifying his exit from Winnipeg.

The Jets surrendered two significant players to acquire Dubois: Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic and did so because they believed a one-two punch at the center position of Dubois and Mark Scheifele would be the key to the next era of contending Jets squads.

That pairing of Dubois and Scheifele doesn’t look like it’ll remain in place for much longer, as the Jets will have to decide if they want to deal Dubois this summer or continue with him on the roster in the hopes that he changes his mind about staying in Winnipeg.

Winnipeg Jets Re-Sign Johnathan Kovacevic

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The Winnipeg Jets have signed restricted free agent Johnathan Kovacevic to a three-year contract, which will carry an NHL cap hit of $766,700. The deal is a two-way contract in the first two years and a one-way contract in 2024-25.

PuckPedia provides the full breakdown:

  • 2022-23: $750K NHL / $150K AHL / $175K guaranteed
  • 2023-24: $775K NHL / $250K AHL / $275K guaranteed
  • 2024-25: $775K

Kovacevic, 25, made his NHL debut this season and played in four games for the Jets but mostly continued his stellar play for their minor league affiliate. A 6’5″ defenseman that can contribute at both ends of the rink is incredibly valuable, and his play for the Manitoba Moose was a big reason why they finished with a 41-24-7 record.

With 30 points in 62 games, the 2017 third-round pick continued his offensive improvement and has worked his way up to being a legitimate call-up option for the Jets. The interesting part about that is that he is no longer waiver-exempt, meaning they could potentially lose him if they try to send him to the minor leagues.

In fact, that may be part of why the two sides agreed on a multi-year deal like this. Teams rarely want to pluck these kinds of commitments off the waiver wire without any previous experience with the player, meaning Kovacevic likely is able to slip through once again. That is of course unless he makes the Jets out of camp, though with how many other defensemen will be in line for NHL opportunity, that is unlikely.

Winnipeg Jets Sign Jeff Malott

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July 22: The Jets have officially announced the contract, confirming the term and NHL cap hit.

July 21: The Winnipeg Jets are bringing back restricted free agent forward Jeff Malott on a two-year, two-way contract, per CapFriendly. The contract carries a $762.5K cap hit and will take him to unrestricted free agency in 2024. The breakdown is as follows:

2022-23: $750K NHL salary, $125K minors salary
2023-24: $775K NHL salary, $175K minors salary

Malott made his NHL debut this season, playing just 4:06 in a singular game. He did manage to take a minor penalty in that time as well. That’s not a strong indicator of his overall success, though, as he’s put together two strong professional seasons since graduating from the Cornell University program in 2020.

He was stuck in the ECHL for four games in 2020-21 but made an impact when given the chance in the AHL with Manitoba, notching 14 goals, six assists, and 20 points in 34 games during his first professional season. He solidified a top-six role in Manitoba this past season, too, breaking the 20-goal mark and finishing with 41 points in 62 games.

He’ll be turning 26 next month, and while there’s likely not a whole lot of long-term NHL upside with Malott, he’s showing he can be a solid contributor at the top of an AHL lineup and should be higher up on Winnipeg’s list of call-up options.

Winnipeg Jets Hire Brad Lauer, Marty Johnston

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The Winnipeg Jets have finished their staff, naming Brad Lauer and Marty Johnston as the new assistants under head coach Rick Bowness and associate coach Scott Arniel. Nolan Baumgartner will be joining the Manitoba Moose as an assistant, taking over the role that Johnston held the past five seasons.

Lauer, 55, recently won the WHL championship as head coach of the Edmonton Oil Kings, finishing a four-year run with the club that saw nearly unprecedented success. The Oil Kings went 154-46-23 over his tenure, as he helped top prospects like Dylan Guenther and Jake Neighbours reach entirely new heights. He returns to the NHL where he coached for seven seasons as an assistant with the Ottawa Senators, Anaheim Ducks, and Tampa Bay Lightning.

The 34th overall pick in 1985, the Saskatchewan native played more than 300 games in the NHL, retiring in 2002 after a short stint in the UK.

Johnston, meanwhile, is being promoted from the AHL where he served as an assistant since 2017. Before that, he was the head coach at Carleton University for seven seasons, where he led the school to a 129-49-12 record. This will be his first opportunity to coach in the NHL, a nice jump for a coach who will be one to keep an eye on in the future.

The staff will also include goaltending coach Wade Flaherty and video coach Matt Prefontaine.

Jets Sign Saku Maenalanen

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The Jets have decided to give Saku Maenalanen another opportunity in North America as CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that they’ve signed the center to a one-year, two-way deal.  The contract will pay $750K in the NHL and $225K in the minors.

This will be the 28-year-old’s second stint in North America after spending the 2018-19 campaign with Carolina.  He split that season between the NHL and AHL, picking up eight points in 34 games with the Hurricanes (while also getting into nine postseason contests) and added 14 points in 31 appearances in the minors.  However, while Carolina tendered him a qualifying offer in 2019, he opted to go back overseas instead.

Since then, Maenalanen has played in Finland, spending two years with Jokerit in the KHL before joining Karpat of the SM-liiga last season.  He was quite productive in 2021-22, leading the team in scoring with 41 points in 47 games while also making appearances for Finland at the Olympics and World Championships.  That was enough to convince Winnipeg to offer Maenalanen another NHL opportunity while the center walks away from the two remaining years on his Finnish contract to do so.

Winnipeg has several roster spots up front to fill next season so as things stand, there will be some openings in training camp in the fall.  With him doing reasonably well in a limited role with Carolina in the past, Maenalanen could have an inside track on one of those openings with the Jets likely opting once again to turn to low-cost depth to round out their roster for 2022-23.

Winnipeg Jets Do Not File For Salary Arbitration With Pierre-Luc Dubois

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As today’s 5:00 pm ET deadline for teams to file for club-elected player salary arbitration came and went, the Winnipeg Jets apparently chose not to file for arbitration with forward Pierre-Luc Dubois, says Murat Ates of The Athletic (subscription required). The decision didn’t appear as much of a surprise given Dubois’ and the Jets’ situation, and allows both sides to continue discussing a long-term extension or perhaps explore different trade scenarios as has been speculated. Winnipeg had previously issued a $6.65MM qualifying-offer to Dubois in order to retain his rights and give both sides the ability to file for arbitration.

There are several reasons as to why the Jets may have decided not to file for arbitration with Dubois. Firstly, if contract discussions have been amicable and progressive, electing for arbitration and forcing a decision, either through negotiation or arbitration, may have served to disrupt a positive situation. Another reason could be, given the $6.65MM qualifying-offer, Winnipeg would have to file, at minimum, at that number in arbitration with the strong possibility Dubois could be awarded even more. Lastly, because Dubois is two years removed from unrestricted free agency, it was also possible an arbitrator would award the 24-year-old with a two-year contract that would carry him directly to the UFA market in 2024, something not only Winnipeg would want to avoid, but perhaps also the team they could trade him to, if they elected to go down that road.

Mason Appleton Files For Salary Arbitration

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A key distinction to add is that any player who has filed for arbitration is no longer eligible to sign an offer sheet, effectively taking the players on this list off the market. Three notable names that did not file for arbitration are Winnipeg Jets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois, Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk and Columbus Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine. Though contract talks have been quiet on Dubois and Tkachuck, word of amicable discussions between Laine’s camp and Columbus has been made known. Once tomorrow’s club-elected salary arbitration deadline passes, teams and players will have time to prepare their cases before hearings begin, running from July 27th through August 11th.

Winnipeg Jets Re-Sign Jansen Harkins

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Another depth signing has come in tonight, this one with Jansen Harkins and the Winnipeg Jets. Per CapFriendly, Harkins has re-signed with the Jets on a two-year deal carrying an $850K AAV.

Harkins, 25, has been with the Jets organization since being drafted by the team in the second round of the 2015 draft. Harkins was a star in the WHL for the Prince George Cougars, scoring at least 20 goals in three straight seasons and over 70 points twice.

As a professional, Harkins has taken a long road to the NHL. Harkins spent parts of four seasons in the AHL with the Manitoba Moose and even spent a few games with the Jacksonville IceMen of the ECHL.

At the NHL level, Harkins has been a useful, if a bit unimpressive depth player for the Jets. He has 22 points in 132 career games and had seven goals and 13 points in 77 games this past year, his first as an NHL regular. Harkins played in an extremely limited role, getting under 10 minutes of ice time per game.

Such little ice time and zero special teams use isn’t ideal for a bottom-sixer, but Harkins provided energy to the Jets’ lineup, which is something they valued enough to keep him on their NHL roster.

At an $850k salary, getting Harkins back to fill out the Jets’ depth isn’t a bad piece of work for GM Kevin Cheveldayoff.

Latest On Pierre-Luc Dubois

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The full extent of the Montreal Canadiens’ offseason plans began to take shape today, as the team traded defenseman Jeff Petry and center Ryan Poehling to the Pittsburgh Penguins. One major name that many have connected to the Canadiens is that of Winnipeg Jets center Pierre-Luc Dubois. It doesn’t take any detective work to understand why that connection is being made: Pat Brisson, Dubois’ agent, has communicated that his client would like to play in Montreal, and Dubois has reportedly communicated to the Jets that his intention is to leave as a free agent in two years time. Many have speculated, then, that the Canadiens would attempt to acquire Dubois this summer, and it appears that that sort of speculation is grounded in reality.

According to Arpon Basu of The Athletic (subscription link), Dubois attended the NHL Draft in Montreal because he “believed a trade would be completed on the draft floor.” Furthermore, Basu adds that “it is believed” that Winnipeg is “holding up a trade” because they want Montreal to include a player in the compensation package for Dubois that Montreal has no interest in moving. As we saw with the trade of Alexander Romanov to get Kirby Dach on draft night, Canadiens GM Kent Hughes is willing to trade players he isn’t actively looking to deal if he believes the player he’s getting in return is worth it. Dubois is extremely talented, but as a result the player the Jets could be seeking from Montreal could be someone too important for the Canadiens to move.

Winnipeg Jets Sign Elias Salomonsson

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The Winnipeg Jets have inked a member of their most recent draft class to an entry-level deal. The Jets announced today that second-round pick Elias Salomonsson has signed a three-year entry-level deal with the club.

Salomonsson was the 55th overall pick at last Thursday’s draft and is one of the younger players in the draft class. He’s still just 17 years old and won’t turn 18 until August 31st. The Jets took him out of Skelleftea, a club in Sweden. Salomonsson split time last season between Skelleftea’s SHL and junior-level teams, and his 10-game stint in the SHL was extremely impressive given his age. Salomonsson had 11 goals and 22 points in 35 games at the U-20 level and zero points in his 10 SHL games, although he played in a very sheltered role.

Salomonsson is a smooth-skating blueliner with polished two-way ability. He has a lot of room to grow and with the right development could blossom into a top-four defenseman. His entry-level deal gives him the chance to earn a spot in Winnipeg at training camp, though in all likelihood he will return to Sweden and take on a larger role with his home club.

The new SHL-NHL agreement stipulates that Salomonsson cannot be sent to the AHL because he is under the minimum age and isn’t a first-round pick. So, if the Jets preferred to send him to their AHL affiliate for next season they won’t have the option to do so as they would have in prior years.

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